Star Wars: Choices

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To my brother, who got me into Star Wars in the first place

Fifteen years after the Clone Wars ended, the Galactic Civil War rages across the galaxy, beings of all species must take up arms to choose their own destiny. As war rages unchecked on his planet of Chardin, retired Mandalorian Death Watch commando Kai Relon must decide whether to stay out of the fight or take up arms to defend himself and his family. As the fighting grows closer to his home, the decision will soon be made for him. Unbeknownst to him, the Empire has dispatched a special unit of clone commandos to find and eliminate the Rebel leader..............

Chapter One
​"You have your orders. I trust you will complete your mission in a timely manner." Boss acknowledged with a "yes, sir" and quickly closed link so he and the rest of Imperial Squad 27, formerly Republic Commando Delta Squad, could talk privately and plan this operation. Despite the last fifteen years of getting to know Longshot, IC-1730, Boss, Scorch, and Fixer still felt as though he was an outsider, even though they all know that Sev, RC-1207, was most likely dead by now. Squad 27 had been on hundreds of missions since the chaos of Order 66, so they know Longshot almost as well as they had known Sev. They were en route to the planet Chardin to assassinate Chars Begun, the Rebel leader for the planet. They had complete faith that the mission would be completed in a matter of days, a week at most. Despite this, they would still feel the aching hole that Sev had once filled. Sev loved these types of missions. He had been Delta's sniper, and a damn good one at that. Longshot was their sniper now, and was almost as accurate as Sev had been, hitting all of his targets, but not all in the same place Sev had. Boss still knew that they would succeed and within a week and a half they would be redeployed to another planet. The computer beeped and dropped them out of hyperspace and through the viewport, they could see the green and blue planet Chardin.
Chardin- one month earlier
​Kai had just finished the day's work in his field when his wife, Iris, called him inside for supper. He smiled, his mind briefly flashing back to the day he married her, a woman he had met on assignment for the Mandalorian Death Watch. She had known, on their wedding day, what he was and what he had done, yet she loved him anyway. She had cared for him when he was injured, and her and her family had provided him a place to lay low and wait for the right moment to complete his assignment. They had also known what he was, and despite her mother not being fond of that, they all still loved and cared about him. As he walked back to his homestead, he began to repeat under his breath the names of his parents, brother, and all the comrades he had lost throughout his life. As he did each and every single day. They were still apart of him. Nu Kyr'adyc, shi taab' echaaj'la. Not gone, merely marching far away. When he walked through the door, Iris flung her arms around him, then quickly withdrew and looked in square in the eye. "You, cyar'ika, need a shower. Right now." She told him sternly. Cyar'ika. Darling. It had been so long since his family had spoken his name aloud. Even his two children, Mason and Ruu, only ever called him Buir, father. The fact that his wife had learned Mando'a, granted it was only a few commonly used words and phrases, still made him happier than he could describe. He smiled and agreed. Fifteen minutes later, showered and dressed, Kai sat down at the table with his family. As she passed him the dish of Tiingliar- a blisteringly spicy meat and vegetable casserole they ate once a week- Mason told him that he had gotten into a fight at school that school. Looking sharply at his son, Kai asked him to explain. "Well, buir, these three boys were bullying this girl, Maya. So, I went over to them and punched the biggest one in the chin. The others came at me and started trying to beat me up, but they didn't know how fast I was. The teacher came running over and sent us all to the office." When Mason was finished, Kai just told him how proud he was for him standing up to those bullies and protecting that girl. The family of four finished their meal in good spirits, and when they turned in for the night, Kai felt happy and at peace with the universe. The next two weeks were filled with the same happiness and feeling of serenity. Until the day everything changed. The day that Kai had been dreading for years. The day that his son became a man and asked a girl out. That night, Mason told his parents that he had asked out Maya, and they had made plans to go see a holovid the next day. Iris broke down, saying that her ad'ika-little one- had grown up and become a man. Kai, having become a soldier for the Death Watch at the ripe age of eighteen, just two years older than his son was at this moment, just smiled at his boy and told him he was proud for having brought him up to be the man he was. The next day Kai watched his son take the family landspeeder to pick up Maya. A few hours later, when he got back, Kai asked how it went, but Mason just blushed and said it was fine, the went to his room. Kai smiled and went to bed. For the next two weeks Mason went out with Maya each night. Everything was going well in life. Which, as is the way of the universe, that had to be when everything changed. When the Relon family woke up on the bright, sunny day that, unbeknownst to them, Squad 27 landed on Chardin, Kai Relon still hadn't made up his mind abut fighting. This day, however, would change that. Kai had to go to the market in town to pick up a few things. As usual, he secretly wore the chest plate of his Mandalorian armor, just in case, with his blaster pistol hidden in the holster tucked inside his pants. So far, all was well and normal. However, when he stopped to purchase some fruit to distill into the throat-searing Mandalorian alcohol Tiihar, he noticed four rather bulky middle-aged men walking, looking around. His combat-trained instincts immediately kicking in, Kai put the fruit back and began to walk away, back to his speederbike. One of those men spotted him and, maybe sensing something different from Kai, approached him. As the man reached him, Kai mentally prepared himself for a potential fight. The man stopped, and looking directly in his eyes, opened his mouth and said
​"Hello sir, I was wondering if you could point me in the direction of Tarina. I seem to have misplaced my holomap" Boss asked the man who had been giving off a strange vibe. The man clearly, at least to Boss' well-trained eyes, was mentally prepared to fight if necessary. Fixer, Scorch, and Longshot were already in position discreetly behind Boss, ready to provide backup if needed. "Sure, Tarina is seven klicks northeast. Follow the main road for two klicks, then you'll come across a split. Take the smaller road for the rest of the way, and you'll be there." Judging by the way the man was standing, he most likely had a chest plate of some kind underneath his shirt, and a blaster in his pants, Boss thought to himself. Thanking the man, Boss reached out to shake his hand. The man, instinctually it seemed, grasped Boss' forearm, but immediately let go and inside took his hand, shaking it twice with a firm grip. His palm and fingers were heavily calloused in exactly the same places that Boss' were whenever he didn't wear gloves. The body language. The way he held himself. The callouses. The way the man instinctually grabbed Boss' forearm. Alone, this meant nothing. But combined, Boss, using his deductive reasoning skills, this meant that this man either was, or had been, a soldier at one point in his life. And for a long period, at that. "It's always a pleasure to meet a veteran soldier, sir" Boss said to the man, to see his reaction, however small. The man's left eye twitched, and his Adam's apple bobbed slightly. Gotcha, Boss thought. The man said "I'm sorry, but you're mistaken. I'm no soldier, nor have I ever been." He said this fast. Too fast, as if he was lying through his teeth. Boss simply looked confused, and said "Gar kar'taylir, burc'ya, gar ru'kir cuyir proud" which meant that he was saying that the man should be proud for having served. The man blinked, once, twice, then brought his fist up to punch Boss in the face. Or he would have, had Boss not dodged the punch and swept the man's legs out from under him, causing him to fall to the ground. The man reached into his pants and pulled out a small WESTAR-35 blaster pistol. He attempted to shoot Boss, but by then the rest of Squad 27 arrived and pulled the man to his feet, Fixer yanking the blaster away from him. The man let out a string of obscenities in Mando'a, the language of the Mandalorians, before Scorch fired a stun blaster at the man, knocking him out. Boss turned around and saw that a crowd had gathered around. "This is official Empire business. Carry on with what you were doing. There's nothing to see here" Boss announced to the crowd. "Boss, what're we going to do? We don't exactly have a place we can take him, and dragging him with us through the mission is impossible. Look at him. He'll put up a fight, and a damn good one at that" Longshot asked. "I know, but if this guy is a real Mandalorian, we need to interrogate him, find out if he knows anything about the Rebel leader" Boss whispered back. The five-man group stood there for a moment, then Boss told Fixer to go and bring the landspeeder around so they could take the man to their temporary living quarters. Fifteen minutes later, they were at their basecamp, a seedy motel that was unoccupied save for the squad and their new guest.
Chapter Two
​Imperial Star Destroyer Tiberius
​"Admiral, incoming transmission from Squad 27, sir" Ensign Velt said to Admiral Rede Zayson. Admiral Zayson nodded his head at the young ensign to give the go-ahead for her to play the message. At once, the voice of IC-1138, Boss, said "Sir, we have run into some.... difficulties. We've picked up a prisoner who was wearing a chestplate made of genuine Beskar, the armor of a Mandalorian soldier. I figured you would want to know, and could instruct us on what to do. Over." Admiral Zayson thought for a moment, before saying "IC-1138, while I have complete faith in your decision-making skills, what in the blazes made you think it was smart to pick up a PRISONER, particularly on this mission?" Boss' voice came back after several seconds. "Yes, sir, I understand that this was not the smartest decision, however, given the nature of this man, I believe he could be of use to us. Either for information, or as a decoy. I simply wanted to know what you thought we should do. I realize that sending a ship down is most likely out of the question, but we do not usually encounter Mandalorian warriors. Over." At this point, Admiral Zayson was beginning to become annoyed at the clone's tone, and said "Well, do whatever you think you need to, but if it compromises you and your team, rest assured that I will NOT be sending you reinforcements. It will be up to you and your men to survive. Is that clear, IC-1138?" "Sir, yes sir. Squad 27 over and out." The link went dead. Admiral Zayson was aware that the entire bridge had grown silent as he did an about-face and began to stiffly walk out of the bridge. At the blast doors, he gave one last command, this time addressing his second-in-command, Captain Bravel. "Captain, alert me of any developments." "As you wish, Admiral." Captain Bravel replied. Admiral Zayson nodded and exited the bridge.
Chardin- Basecamp Delta
​"Well, the admiral was a bit upset when I told him about our new friend and said that if he compromises the mission, we're on our own. With no incoming reinforcements if things go sour." Boss told the gathered squad, not bothering to try to conceal the grin on his face. "Well, Boss, it's not like we haven't dealt with THAT before, is it?" Fixer innocently said. Boss and the rest of the squad laughed, before turning to look at their prisoner. Boss raised his eyebrow at the man, who simply said "Go to haran, scum" before resuming the cold death stare he had been giving Squad 27 since returning to consciousness. Scorch just smiled before turning back to his blaster and continuing to clean it. Longshot was on the roof, in full matte-black armor, with his sniper, just in case the man had friends. Boss looked at their captive and asked him one simple question that every soldier was allowed to answer. "What's your name?" The man looked him dead in the eye, as though he wished nothing more than to make it black and blue, and replied "Kai. Not that it matters much to you, huh?" "It does, actually, because you may be of use to us. Not many Mando'ade in this corner of the Galaxy, is there? That makes you special, Kai. You know what war is about." The man- Kai -nodded. "Good, because you may have some intel that we would greatly appreciate if you shared." "What intel would I have? I told you, I'm no soldier. Not anymore, at least." "You see, we have a theory that you were hired to provide logistical support to the Rebels on this fine planet." "Why the hell would I help the Rebellion? I gave up fighting years ago, when I moved to this planet and had my family." "Family, eh? Wife? Kids, maybe?" "Yes. And, I swear, if you go anywhere near them, I will unleash each of the Nine Hells of Corellia on you and your friends. Only they're not just friends, are they? You're a squad of clones." Boss was surprised that Kai could tell they were clones, as each of the had been given disguises for the duration of the mission. Synthbeards, different eye color, even different vocal patterns. Clearly, this man knew a clone when he saw one. "And I'd bet that you're genuine, bona-fide clones of Jango Fett. Judging by your age, build, and sound of your voices." This shocked Boss even more. Not many people knew who the genetic donor for the Clone Army had been, much less the age they would be. "Well, you certainly know your history, don't you? You're correct, me and my brothers are pure Fett Clones, born and bred for the Clone Wars." "Yeah, I know. I fought with clones at the Battle of Mandalore. I was one of the True Mandalorians who helped the Republic fight Maul and his "Shadow Collective." And I managed to survive. After that fight, I left. Moved here. Met my wife, started my family. And foolishly believed I wouldn't have to fight anymore." Boss actually felt sort of bad for Kai. If he was telling the truth, then he had fought on the same side that Delta Squad was on. In that moment Boss made a decision. A stupid, careless, potentially lethal decision. He walked over to Kai, cut his bindings, and told him to go home, and try to forget this happened. This was choice made because they were both soldiers, who had fought for the same side, and who understood war and its costs. He knew that Kai wouldn't tell anyone what had transpired, because Kai understood. Because Boss and his clone brothers had a choice.
Kai left the motel and saw another clone climb down from the roof. This one pointed towards a speederbike. Pointed towards Kai's speederbike. Kai nodded to show he understood, and climbed in, started the engine, and drove off. When he got back to his home, he made a promise to himself that he would forget this whole thing happened. After all, looking at his chrono, it had only been a few hours since he left the house, and he could just tell Iris that he stopped for a drink on the way home, and lost track of time talking to some of the patrons. When he got to the front door, he could immediately see that something was wrong. The window in the door was broken away completely.
Chapter three
​He pulled out his blaster pistol (which the clones had graciously given back to him) and slowly approached the house. When he entered, he saw no sign of a struggle, nor any bodies. He went into his bedroom and saw Iris. She sprung up and said "Oh thank the Manda! As it turns out, I do not know how to fix a door. I tried to fix the window in the door, but just ended up breaking the whole thing. Mason is out with Maya, and Ruu is over at her friend's house. Sorry for scaring you." Kai felt relieved that his family was still safe. The next day, Kai went into a shed he hadn't used in many years. He closed the door, latched it, and moved the buckets that were in the middle. Underneath was a square of wood. Under this, was a hole in the ground. This hole contained a set of slightly tarnished red and gold Mandalorian armor. Next to the plates was a rucksack. Kai picked up the rucksack and pulled out its contents. Those contents were a WESTAR Blaster Carbine, a loose hunting blade, a belt, and another WESTAR-35 Blaster Pistol. Kai placed the weapons next to his armor and sighed. Aside from a single blaster pistol, it had been many years since he had even looked at his armor and weapons, much less used them. And now, it looked as though he would be using them again, and very soon. He no longer had any choice of staying out of this war. Sighing once again, Kai packed his gear up again, and brought the bundle into the homestead. Iris saw this, and knowing she would regret asking, said "You have to fight, don't you?" Kai looked at his beautiful wife, and nodded. She looked down and gave a small nod. Giving him her permission, even though they both knew he wanted this less even then her. When they settled on Chardin, he had sworn to never put on his armor again, as they led a peaceful, normal life. Instead of reminding him of that oath, she let him go, knowing he would never do this unless he absolutely had too. Clearly, he was now a soldier in the war that was ravaging the Galaxy. Whether he wanted it or not. Kai walked upstairs to their bedroom and closed the door. He placed the bundle on the bed. Then he put on his skintight bodysuit and attached his armor plates. He was now dressed for war.
Chapter four
​Basecamp Delta
Delta Squad was prepared to fulfill their orders and complete the mission. They had all the information they needed, and all their gear was ready and in perfect working condition. They knew the target would be exactly where they wanted him. Within five standard hours, they would be flying back to the Tiberius and would be able to mark off another successful mission. So why did Boss feel as though something was off? Shrugging it off, he called the rest of Squad 27 to the landspeeder and the four of them drove off to their target. An hour later, they were there. Setting down the landspeeder, they unloaded their equipment and began the two-mile trek to the base of Chars Begun. Twenty minutes later-no small feat considering the weight they were carrying- they had arrived at the outskirts of the Rebel encampment. Longshot went off to find a good spot to pick off enemies with his sniper rifle while the other three commandos made their way to the edge of the tree line. A few minutes later, Longshot called in to let them know he was in position. Boss took a deep, steadying breath. He heard Fixer and Scorch do the same. Then, the trio leaved the concealment of the cluster of trees. Only a minute later, just as they saw a pair of rebel soldiers look their way, they heard two shots go off. Instantly, the two men dropped to the ground. Without even a glance at the other two, Boss charged the position. They all reached it at the same time, and Boss nodded at Scorch. He gave a thumbs-up and placed a breaching charge on the door, then retreated a few paces while Boss and Fixer stacked either side of the doorway. A moment later, Scorch detonated the charge, and the squad rushed inside. They heard a crackle on their comms- Longshot wishing them good luck- as the sounds of blasterfire pierced the air. Quickly taking cover, the squad issued return fire. A few heartbeats later, all shooting paused for a second. Taking advantage of that moment, Boss and Fixer charged to the other side of the room, with Scorch providing suppressive fire. Once they reached the other end, the squad made quick work of the half dozen rebel's that were crouched behind a half-wall. Looking around, Boss signaled to Scorch while letting Longshot know the room was clear. Longshot acknowledged, and they heard him slide down from his sniping position. Two minutes later, the four commandos kicked down the other door, and Fixer tossed a thermal detonator into the room. A handful of seconds later, it exploded. They could hear the screams of the wounded as they ran inside, Boss in the lead. A dozen heartbeats later, the screams were silenced. There were now only six people. Delta Squad, the Rebel leader Chars Begun. And a man wearing red and gold Mandalorian armor, blaster carbine pointed at them.
Chapter five
​The man pushed Begun behind him, and raised his carbine higher, aiming at Boss' neck. Osik, if he fires, I'm dead" Boss thought. The carbine was pointed at the toughed fabric seal between helmet and collarbone armor. At this range, with that kind of weapon, Boss would be killed instantly if the man fired. "Kai, I know it's you. You need to walk away while you still can. Mandalorian or not, we still outnumber you four to one. And we can take you down. Please, just walk away form this!" Boss told the man. Kai stood stock-still, but Boss knew he was looking at his HUD, deciding for himself if what Boss said was true. If they could take him out. They looked at each other for a moment, then all hell broke loose.
Kai was looking at each of the four clones as he calculated his chances of taking out the squad without getting either himself or the Rebel leader killed. He could feel Begun shaking from fear as he was pressed up to Kai's backplate. Making up his mind, he activated the flamethrower attached to his left wrist gauntlet. The clones scattered, the one in the rear laying down cover fire. Taking a couple of shots to his faceplate, Kai kept shooting the deadly flames as he and Begun backed up and the leader opened a hidden door and crawled inside. Kai gave the man a dozen and a half seconds before his flamethrower ran out of fuel and then he raised his hands in surrender.
Boss, Fixer, and Scorch were clearly as shocked as Longshot was when the Mandalorian- Kai -suddenly shot fire from his wrist. Not giving shock time to sink in, however, was something that the clones had been trained to do. Longshot fired a handful of blaster bolts as he and the other men scattered for cover. Twenty seconds later, the flames disappeared, and Kai had his hands up in surrender. Fixer tackled the man to ground and pushed his blaster into the underside of the Mandalorian helmet. A minute later, they had Kai tied up with his helmet off. The squad looked into the man's face. Looking up at them, Kai opened his mouth to speak. "I had no choice. The Empire would never allow me to live here. Not with what they know I can do. I had to do whatever I could to stop you from killing Begun" Kai told them. Not even bothering to respond, Boss hauled the man to his feet, and the squad pulled him outside, and the made the two-mile trek back to their landspeeder. Once they returned, they threw him inside, and drove away. Not speaking even one word.
Chapter six
​Basecamp Delta
When they reached the motel, they had to wait a half hour due to several people walking around the area. When they were gone, Boss and Fixer brought Kai into their room while Scorch and Longshot parked the landspeeder and brought in the equipment. Once the four clones were gathered around Kai, Boss took off the man's gag. They locked eyes for perhaps ten seconds. Then, Boss asked him one word. "Why?" "Because, the Empire is tightening their hold on the planet, and I can't risk them finding out who I am and what I'm capable of. If they do, then my entire family will be in danger" Kai responded. Boss took a second to digest this, and even though he was angry that the man had taken up arms against them, he understood why. And with everything he had seen the Empire do, with everything HE had been ordered to do, he believed Kai. He knew the man was absolutely right about what would happen if the Empire found out about the man. They would target his wife and kids, then his friends and neighbors, and then they would execute Kai himself. Unfortunately, following proper Imperial procedure in the event of encountering an enemy commando who possessed the means to cause extensive damage to either Imperial equipment or personal, Boss had already alerted Admiral Zayson to the situation. Zayson had decided to bring Kai to the Tiberius for a proper Imperial interrogation. The admiral had already dispatched a shuttle to transport Kai to the Star Destroyer. Boss told him this, but made the man a promise. Boss swore that the squad would do everything they could to keep Kai's family safe. Looking at his feet, Kai nodded. "I don't care what happens to me as long as my family is safe. They can't torture any information out of me because I don't know anything. I did all this for my wife and kids." Boss nodded, and the five men, five soldiers, waited for the shuttle to arrive. Ten minutes later, the shuttle landed, and a squad of stormtroopers emerged. They entered the squad's room and took Kai into the shuttle. A minute later, they took off. Boss watched them until the shuttle was a tiny black dot in his HUD.
Chapter seven
​ Imperial Star Destroyer Tiberius
​"So you're the Mandalorian commando I was told about" Admiral Zayson said as he entered the interrogation room. The Mandalorian nodded, making direct eye contact. Not flinching before the authority that the admiral commanded. This is a brave one Zayson thought to himself. He smiled in his mind. He enjoyed brave prisoners. He relished the challenge of breaking them, of seeing the resolve drain out of their eyes. He slightly raised his eyebrow at the interrogation officer, who nodded to show that he had completed the preliminary interrogation. Once again smiling in his mind, Zayson jerked his head to the side, telling the officer to leave the room. Once the door slid closed, he looked down at his datapad and scanned the man's profile. "Kai Relon, retired Mandalorian Death Watch Commando, husband of Iris Relon, father of Mason and Ruu Relon. This is very interesting to me. As someone who supposedly gave up fighting a decade and a half ago, who had a wife and two kids, why would you attempt to protect a rebel leader?" Kai simply looked at the man, a glare that clearly said he wished a long and painful death on Zayson. Zayson smiled at the man, and continued to read his file. After several moments, Zayson decided to provide some more incentive to Kai. "If you do not explain why you sided with the rebels, I will have your family tortured and executed, one by one, in front of you. Then maybe you will provide the information I seek." Seeing the look of horror on the man's face, Zayson left the room, and told the officer on duty to take him to the detention cells and place him under direct stormtrooper guard.
Basecamp Delta, one day later
Squad 27 had just returned to their basecamp after successfully eliminating the rebel leader. He had foolishly returned to his base, with a dozen guards, only to run into Boss and his squad. They, of course, quickly killed the guards before slotting the leader himself. With their mission complete, they were returning to the Tiberius for debriefing. After a quick stop to collect anything they may have left at the motel, they called for a shuttle to pick them up. Two hours later, after having been debriefed, the squad was in the mess hall when they received the news from Ensign Velt, who was on a meal break. Smiling as if they were pleased, Velt left them to their food. Having to fake nonchalance for ten minutes as they finished their meal was more difficult then they thought it'd be. Boss told the squad to do whatever they wanted while he went to talk with Kai. After receiving permission from the detention officer on duty, Boss was allowed to speak with the Mandalorian. "The admiral said he'd execute my family if I didn't give him the information he wanted. He kept threatening them, saying he'd torture them before killing them in front of me. So.... I gave him information." "What? How could you tell him anything? You said yourself you didn't know anything" Boss replied. "I know, I know! I was terrified that my family would be murdered! And I didn't give him information on the rebels. I gave him information about a deserter." "What deserter? There's a deserter on Chardin?" Boss asked, confused. Kai shook his head. "He's not a deserter, per say. From what he told me, he went MIA when he got separated from his squad on Kashyyyk. During the Clone Wars" Boss felt as if his world was spinning around him. It couldn't be..... "He said his ID number was RC-1207, and his name was Sev. And in exchange for my family's safety, I told Zayson about him."
Chapter eight
​Boss was stunned as he called the Fixer and Scorch and told them to meet him in the barracks. He was still stunned by the time they arrived. They could immediately tell, of course, that something was different with Boss. In unison, they said "What is it?" Boss only shook his head. Fixer and Scorch exchanged puzzled looks before repeating their question. This time, Boss responded "He's still alive." When the other two still look confused, Boss clarified, his voice slightly rising after each word, until he was shouting. "Sev. He's still alive. He's on Chardin. Kai knows him. HE KNOWS WHERE SEV IS AND HE TOLD ZAYSON." Scorch and Fixer were shocked. For a solid ten minutes the three clones look at each other, not quite believing that Sev was not only alive, but on the planet below them. Before the truth could fully sink in, their comlinks beeped. Reading the message, the squad went to Admiral Zayson's quarters. Upon arriving, Zayson told them to enter. When the door shut behind them, Zayson smiled at them and said "We appear to have apprehended a deserter and traitor to the Empire. We have clone commando RC-1207 in custody, and I wanted the three of you, as his former squadmates, to interrogate him and figure out why he deserted. Go to the detention block and tell the officer that you have orders to interrogate RC-1207." The three clones, noting that Longshot was not in attendance, nodded, and Zayson dismissed them. The three clones went down to the detention block and told the officer on duty that Admiral Zayson ordered them to interrogate RC-1207. The officer nodded and showed them to the proper cell. The thanked him and entered. Inside the was a man, hunched over in the corner, his head in between his legs. Upon hearing the door slid closed, he looked up, his eyes full of tears, his face scarred almost beyond recognition, his hair light grey and shoulder-length. But underneath everything that was different, Boss, Fixer, and Scorch could still tell that it was Sev. Taking off their helmets, they sat down next to him. Sev shivered slightly. But as he gazed at the them, something seemed to happen to his eyes, as though life had suddenly returned to him. He said one word. "Brothers."
Chapter nine
"Sev, what the hell did they do to you?" Scorch said, every syllable sheathed in anger. "N-nothing. This happened on Kashyyyk, when the Seps c-captured me. They tortured me for what felt like an eternity. But a group of Wookies s-saved me and told me about the end of the war and Order 66. If they hadn't r-rescued me, the Seps would've e-e-executed me." That word, execute, snapped Boss out of it. He realized that Zayson would execute Sev no matter what reason he gave for deserting, even though he hadn't deserted but had been captured. Knowing him, Boss knew that Zayson wouldn't care about that distinction, but would still kill Sev. Somehow, they had to free Sev, they had to break him out before he could be put to death. When he ran that by Scorch and Fixer, they nodded, and the four of them, Delta Squad, together again, began to come up with a plan to bust Sev out. They spoke for nearly three hours, trusting that Zayson would not have the security holos active for the cell just in case somebody was trying to tap in and launch a rescue attempt. At the end of the "interrogation" they came up with the plan. However, it was Sev who told the others that they had to also free Kai, as they had been very good friends due to their military past. Boss agreed instantly, but Fixer and Scorch looked at each other for a moment, and then nodded their heads. By adjusting their plan a little bit, they found that they could include Kai. Knowing that Zayson would most likely allow Squad 27 to execute Sev themselves, it would be pretty easy to free him and Kai. Why did they put so much faith in Zayson? They had been assigned to him nearly ten years ago, when he had been promoted to Admiral. They had always carried out his orders and proved that they were loyal to nothing but the Empire. Once, they had even been ordered to assassinate a renegade ARC trooper, they had once been relative friends with: A-26, Captain Maze. They had completed that mission with the efficiency that only a blaster bolt to the head could accomplish. Because of that. Zayson knew he could trust squad 27 with his life. After they reported to Zayson that Sev had deserted on the night of Order 66, and that he had no useful information, the admiral told them to carry out the execution of him and Kai the next morning. "But, I'm a man of my word. I will allow the Mandalorian's family to live. None of them are a threat to the Empire." The squad nodded and were dismissed. They returned to the commando barracks, where they told Longshot that they were executing Kai and a deserter. He nodded, and the four clones went to bed. Tomorrow was going to be a very interesting day.
Chapter ten
​The next day, Squad 27 had reported in the detention block, one squad of imperial army troopers and four stormtroopers with them to provide extra security during the execution. The stormtroopers retrieved Kai and Sev and put them on their knees in front of the commandos. Admiral Zayson himself was also in attendance. Boss and Scorch stepped behind the two prisoners and aimed their blasters at their heads. Each man taking a deep breath, they quickly shifted their aim upwards and instantly fired, Boss shooting at Zayson, Scorch at the stormtroopers, with Longshot and Fixer bringing out their own weapons and firing at the Imperials. Admiral Zayson went down due to a neat hole right between his eyes, dead before he hit the floor, with the stormtrooper commander that Scorch fired at falling as well, with a blaster bolt shredding a hole through the toughed fabric between helmet and collarbone armor, ripping into the man's throat, killing him almost instantly. Their targets dead, Scorch and Boss began to reinforce Longshot and Fixer against the remaining soldiers. A minute later, they were alone. Freeing Kai and Sev, Boss handed them each an E-11 Blaster Rifle from the dead stormtroopers. Together, the group entered the turbolift and zoomed down to the hangar. Once there, they sprinted to the nearest shuttle. They were mere feet away when a full squadron of stormtroopers appeared behind them and fired, knocking Longshot and Scorch to the ground. They quickly jumped up and, with cover fire from the rest, they ran for the shuttle. They were almost there when a thermal detonator exploded next to them, sending Longshot, Scorch, and Fixer flying in different directions. Scorch and Fixer landed close to the shuttle's ramp, while Longshot was sent away from the group, his chestplate shredded and his helmet knocked off. He landed, and Boss could tell the man was a goner. However, he got into a crouch, and continued to shot at the stormtroopers, yelling over the gunfire. "Run! Leave me! I'll hold them off as long as I can" Were the last words the man ever said, as a blaster bolt shaved off the top of his head, killing him instantly. Instead of being rooted in shock, which may have gotten the rest of the group killed, Boss shock his head to clear it, and seeing the other's were inside, ran up the ramp. It closed, and the shuttle took off, leaving the body of Longshot behind. Now all they had to worry about were any pursuing TIE fighters. They left the hanger and made for Chardin, where Kai told them he had a ship that could hold all five of them, plus his family. He looked at Sev, but the man said "I don't have a family. Was a little too old before I had the chance" and gave the first smile he had given in years. "All we need to do is get on the ship and get the haran out of here."
Chapter eleven
​The planet Concord Dawn, one week later
​The group of nine made their way through the forest, looking for a good place to set up a homestead to wait out of the coming war between the Rebels and the Empire. As they neared their fifth hour of walking for the day, Mason called out "Hey, I think I see something!" Boss, in his Imperial Commando armor, and Kai, clad in his Mandalorian armor, walked to the where his son pointed. As they walked out into the small clearing, they ran into two people. Both clad in Mandalorian armor. Boss noticed they looked very familiar, and as the light caught the two figures, he saw that the armor was what he recognized. One gold with red sigils, the other painted completely black.....

TO BE CONTIUNED